Michelle Hauck's Blog, page 11

Query Kombat News

A message from host Laura Heffernan.




After two wonderful years, I'm sorry to say that I'm not going to be able to participate in Query Kombat 2018. I adore the kontest and will be helping out behind the scenes as much as I can. Alas, my husband and I are expecting a baby!

We're incredibly excited, but unfortunately, our little bundle of joy is planning to arrive about halfway between the reading period and when Round 1 starts. There's just no way for me to host this year in any way that would be remotely fair to Mike and Michelle, the judges, or you, the kontestants. I will, however, be reading and cheering you all on from the sidelines.

But never fear! We have found someone ABSOLUTELY AWESOME to take my place! Mike, Michelle, and I are very excited to announce the new host for Query Kombat 2018. It's no fun to just tell you who it is, though, so we've made a game instead.

Make sure to follow Mike (@ravenousrushing), Michelle (@michelle4laughs) and the new host so you don't miss any kontest news and announcements. You should follow me, too, so I don't get lonely (@lh_writes). I'll be tweeting as much as I can.

Help Plan #PBParty

One of my favorite parts of any contest is the twitter party that goes on while the hosts read the submissions. While Sharon and I are busy going through the entries and trying to decide on finals for the agent round, we like to have a little fun. We suggest a topic each day during this process where everyone can jump in with their thoughts. It helps get conversations flowing and brings people together. Often non-PB writers jump aboard because they can't resist talking about their favorite picture books. It all takes place at the #PBParty hashtag. 

Fun does take some planning.

This year I thought why not let you writers do some of the work!!

So down below you'll see the dates and twitter party topics we used last year. I NEED YOU to make suggestions for fun new topics to use this year. It can be variations of old topics or something entirely new. If your topic is picked we will include your name with it to give you credit. We need topics for five or six days but each day can have more than one topic so the more contributions the better. 

So here's your chance to help plan a contest. Have fun. Use your imagination. Keep it clean. Comment below. 

2017 PBParty Twitter Party Topics

Sunday, March 26        Tell us what genre you write and when you entered. Then share your muse. What gives you inspiration to write?

Monday, March 27th     Do you listen to music when your write? Have word count goals? Set aside BIC time (behiney in chair)? Share your daily writing routine.

Tuesday, March 28th     How do you handle writer's block? How many drafts do you write before finished?

Wednesday, March 29th  Animal, vegetable, mineral. Tell us if your MC is human or something else. (My favorite topic.)

Thursday, March 30th     What picture/chapter book gives you the warm fuzzies? And shout out some books with diversity to spread the word on them!

Friday, March 31st       What picture book character would you like for a best friend? What picture book do you remember fondly from your childhood?

Saturday, April 1st       What's your best advice to get through querying? What keeps you sane?

Sunday, April 2nd         Look for CP partners and make more friends. What are your favorite writing craft books?

Reality Wedding Release and Review

Lights? Camera? Action! In this irresistible final installment of the Reality Star Series, one woman's dream wedding may be about to turn into a reality nightmare...

SynopsisSAY ‘I DO’—OR ELSE
When Jen Reid escaped a reality TV cruise with her relationship intact—if not her hair—she swore she was done with the cameras for good. Sure, she and Justin met, had their first kiss, and got engaged with tape rolling, but manufactured drama and ruthless producers have shaken them up more times than she can count. With Jen’s reality-themed bakery just getting started and her brand-new lawyer fiancé in a pile of debt, they’re a long way from glitz and glamour, and that’s fine by Jen. Until the Network calls and tells her that unless she says “I do” to a wedding special, Justin will be out of a job.
Now Jen has two weeks to plan an all-expenses-paid “dream wedding”—and dodge the tricks and traps of a showrunner happy to mess up her future in the name of ratings. Luckily for Jen, she’s got plenty of experience with cake and popcorn. But when real-life drama and reality TV twists collide, the cliffhangers may just follow her right down the aisle . . .


My Review:
The perfect solution to the winter blahs. 

Jen and Justin had their first kiss on nationwide reality tv, then suffered a deluge of exs on the reality cruise from hell to emerge engaged. All they want is privacy. But the network finds a way to force them into yet another show--for a showstopper wedding. Only the network will do anything it can to improve the ratings including lie, tempt to cheat, and attempt to steal their special day with the ugliest dress available and inedible cake.

Jen and Justin vow to go with the flow and deprive the network of the drama they desire. How's that turn out for them? 

You know when you get blazing mad at the tricks played on these characters that they really have you hooked. I wanted to run in there and slap some network ass for their treatment of Jen. I loved rooting for Jen to turn the tables on them. This book is fun and fast paced. It will make you forget reality as you turn pages to reach the fitting ending. It's sad to see the end of these books. I'm going to miss them.


Praise for Reality Wedding:“The third book in Heffernan’s Reality Star series is such a fun and entertaining read, as Justin and Jen – and all the drama that seems to follow them everywhere – are back. Will they get married is the big question here, and will reality TV have any part. Heffernan will keep readers guessing, as the story has some twists to it. With lots of drama, a bit of humor and a sweet romance, this series is as addicting as reality TV. Fans of Sophie Kinsella might want to give this series a try.”- RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars Available now from all major retailers. Order today!
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo  | Google Play |  iBooks

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Be Sure to Check Out the First Two Books in the Reality Star series!

AMERICA’S NEXT REALITY STAR
Millennial Jen auditioned for a reality show hoping to win the 250,000 cash prize. With puzzles, games, and more, this show is right up her alley. But when she meets co-contestant Justin, she finds herself questioning what really matters. Can she trust that his feelings for her are real? Or is it all a showmance put on for the viewers?
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble | Kobo  |  Google Play  |  iBooks







SWEET REALITY  After her brief brush with fame, Jen’s ready to start a new life: New location, new roommate, new boyfriend, new business. But when a killer competitor threatens to put her new bakery out of business before the grand opening, Jen steps back into the spotlight to snag a show-stopping recipe. Can she save her bakery without destroying her relationship? 
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo  |  Google Play  |  iBooks
Praise for the Reality Star series:“America’s Next Reality Star is one sweet, sexy brain-candy read! You won’t be sorry you indulged.” —Leah Marie Brown, USA Today bestselling Author
“Smart, witty, and really freaking good, America’s Next Reality Star is a fun read that has you cheering from the first paragraph through the last page. Laura Heffernan spins an entertaining tale, expertly mixing the main character's real life events with the reality show's challenges. With enough drama to not only satisfy fans of reality TV shows, but readers who thrive on a good story with humor and romance, this book is a perfect read.” —Kerry Lonsdale, Wall Street Journal bestselling author
“Reality TV fans, this is your book! Laura Heffernan captures all the drama and over-the-top craziness in this fun and flirty romance.” —Amy E. Reichert, author of Love, Luck, and Lemon Pie
“If you like sweet contemporary romances with a reality show theme, then you are going to enjoy Heffernan’s Reality Star series. Her second book, Sweet Reality, takes place about 16 months after the first and features the same great couple, Justin and Jen. These two are likeable and relatable characters and there is more romance in this one than there was in the first. There is also an interesting cast of secondary characters. Heffernan does a wonderful job with character development and painting vivid scenes. There are also some cute and funny moments that makes this book a worthwhile and entertaining read. If reality shows are your guilty pleasure, give Heffernan’s Sweet Reality a try.”- RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars




About the Author:
Laura is living proof that watching too much TV can pay off. When not watching total strangers get married, drag racing queens, or cooking competitions, Laura enjoys board games, travel, board games, baking, and board games. She lives in the northeast, where she spends far too much time tweeting about reality TV and Canadian chocolate.
Connect with Laura:Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Website | Newsletter 

Picture Book Party in March 2018

We are doing it again! Spunky. Adorable. Heartwarming.



Those are some of the words that describe picture/chapter books. I'm happy to join with Sharon Chriscoe to do a little something for a group that is left out of most contests. This mini-contest is for you!

Tell your friends who write PB and please post on twitter and in your writer groups. We need help spreading the word. Also the twitter party will be for everyone, so I hope to see you there under the hashtag #PBParty. There will be daily topics that apply to all writers during the submission week.

The agent round will be Wednesday, April 4th - 6th. The submission day is Tuesday, March 27th at 4:00 pm Eastern time. 

We're trying something new this year. The window will stay open at least one hour. That way no one has to rush. 

Then Sharon and I will go through the entries and pick our favorites. I'm not sure how many entries will be chosen, but the number will be around 20. Sharon is my expert on this as I know less about picture books.

The Rules:

Please be a follower of this blog. You can click the "Join this Site" button in the left sidebar. Or if that is stubborn and won't work, you can subscribe to my newsletter or follow @Michelle4Laughs on twitter. I imagine I will be tweeting hints as well as partying!

You may send two entries for different manuscripts. That's two and only two, whether you have multiple pen names or multiple email addresses. Please be honest and not send more. Only one entry will be chosen per person. If you send two, still only one will be picked. Any attempt to cheat will result in entries thrown out (and sadly it has happened in the past.) 

On March 27 at 4:00 pm Eastern the submission window opens. Do not send early or your entry will be deleted. You may resend at the correct time if this happens. I'm recycling an email address as I already have too many. Please send your entry to SunversusSnow at yahoo dot com. 

You should receive a confirmation email. If you do not, please contact me on twitter before resending. Please note that your second submission will likely NOT receive confirmation. That does not mean it wasn't received. Just that our vacation notification only works once. Chill. If we got your first, we got the second. 

Remember: We want to get a good count of entries and duplicates make that harder. The window will stay open at least one hour in order to avoid the crush of entries and flooding me with requests to check for entries.

This contest is only for finished and polished manuscripts. It has to be ready to go out to agents.

The Format:

Subject Line of your Email: PBParty: Title

Example:  PBParty: Hot Tub Santa

Inside the email please bold where bolded in my example. Single space with spaces between paragraphs. Use Times New Roman or equivalent font and the size should be 12.

(Here's a trick to keep your paragraph spacing: copy and paste your entry into your email and then put in the line spaces. They seem to get lost when you copy and paste. It may look right but sending scrambles the spacing.)

Name: Sharon Chriscoe
Twitter Handle: @extracleansanta (optional)
Title: HOT TUB SANTA
Genre: (Here please tell us what type of picture book this is) Example: Board Book, Bedtime Rhyme, Nonfiction, Biography, etc. or List Chapter Book If this is OWNVOICES, please say so here!
Word Count: xxx (round to nearest ten, hundred for chapter books)

Query:

Your entire query letter here. Include your comps, bio, greeting, closing. Please be sure to note diversity and ownvoices in the query as well. (You may use whatever you want for a greeting. Dear Agent. Dear Michelle and Sharon.)

Here is your chance to make your entry shine and make the agent fall in love with your words.

First 50 Words:

Include your first 50 words for a picture book, 100 words for chapter books. Do not stop in the middle of a sentence. You may go over by one or two words to finish a sentence but not more than five. Single space and put spaces in between paragraphs. You may center or tab if appropriate.

Edit: For short picture books, less than 50 words may be submitted. Any count under 50 is allowed.

Also I will delete parts of entries after the contest ends, if requested. For those writers uncomfortable with their work being out there for all to see.


Bonus: You may attach one illustration to your email to show an example of your artwork. If you don't have artwork, don't worry.


That should cover about everything, but you may leave questions in the comments or on twitter. Please no DMs or emails. Don't forget the #PBParty hashtag.

We can't wait to see all the cuteness on March 27th! 

Sun versus Snow Agent Round 2018

WELCOME to the fifth Sun versus Snow agent round! Yep, Amy and I have been holding this contest for five years now. Allow me to think about how far we've come and how many success stories have come out of these contests. Maybe people have gone from writers to published authors in those five years, including myself and Amy.
Much has changed. But much stays the same. 
Today, when we're expecting a foot of snow, can you say omen!, is the day our amazing agents can begin reading the entries and making requests. Not only will they see the 16 amazing entries here, but they can also make requests for Team Sun over at Amy Trueblood's blog!
As the agents move through the entries, please remember that contests are subjective. Our agents have a definitive idea of what they would like for their list. If they do not request, it DOES NOT mean the entry was not worthy. No matter what happens, you’ve got to keep querying and NEVER GIVE UP!  Before Team Snow freezes out Team Sun, here are some guidelines to remember:  There is no commenting in this round except for agents. Sorry, but no cheerleading as this may lead to an unconscious bias.  We are happy to see and retweet your thoughts and cheers over on Twitter under the #sunvssnow tag! That’s the place to hang out and have fun! I hope to see my Team Snow members present with their snow hats and mittens! We have a blizzard of amazing entries that are going to completely obscure Team Sun!

  Watch both my and Amy’s Twitter feed as we will be tweeting when an agent makes an appearance!  Agents will consider entries at both the blogs regardless of whether they are Sun or Snow fans. Amy and I are hoping the agents go crazy with the requests! There is amazing talent on both our teams!  Good luck to all! And get out your snowballs and thermals because Team Snow is taking no prisoners!

Team Snow 1: DEAD AND BURIED, Adult Historical Mystery Ownvoices

Title: DEAD AND BURIED
Genre: Adult Historical Mystery Ownvoices
Word Count: 90,000



Is Your Main Character hot or cold:

When Will Dwyer runs hot, his emotions get the better of him, but at other times, it's like he has no emotions at all.


Query:

Will Dwyer is a convicted thief, a pickpocket and a police constable. As are many of his colleagues, for how else do you staff a police force when constables are poorly paid and most of the labor force is prisoners?  Wealthy free settlers look down on Will, and he's tired of it. When a notorious outlaw is dragged in dead, Will seizes the chance to prove himself--and maybe obtain a pardon--by hunting down the killer.

In today's world, Will would be considered autistic. That doesn't mean he makes clever deductions—just that he doesn't like to talk to people, especially not the wealthy men who despise him but are now his only witnesses. Will pushes on with the investigation forcing himself to ask questions, but his obsession with finding the killer starts to threaten the only thing he values: his friendships. Even worse, the body turns out to not be a notorious bandit after all. With his investigation going backwards, Will must decide whether to  continue with his quest, whatever the cost to himself and his friends, or stick to  patrolling the streets and accept that those who look down on him are right.

Set in Hobart Town in 1827, two decades after the establishment of the British settlement, "Dead and Buried", offers a view of early Australia from a different perspective as Will investigates the mysteries of friendship, social niceties and dead men with too many secrets.


First 250 words:

*Van Diemen's Land, 1827*

My name is William Dwyer. I am a constable at Hobart Town. On the morning of the fifth of November, I was in the taproom of the Duke of Wellington when I saw a crowd coming down the street, following, as best I could tell, a man with a horse. Not a man on a horse, but a man walking beside a horse.

They walked under a blue sky with not a wisp of cloud to seen, just the sun. In here, in this tap-room, it was shaded and cool, even in the doorway, and the mug of ale in my hand was now just a mouthful below full. A waste of good coin to put it aside now, and if I waited, there was always a chance whoever was actually on duty would arrive to take care of the crowd. I wished he'd hurry.

"Something has your interest there," said a deep voice.

A stool scraped over the floor and then the big hulk of Pete Woodrow joined me in the doorway.

"That's quite a gathering up the road. Shouldn't you be bothering them, lad?"

After being roused from my bed at some unholy hour this morning, I deserved this drink. I should have stayed at my table, not followed the nosy herd to the door. It was just a man with a horse. Nothing of interest. Nothing that should attract a crowd of any size, and yet the man and his horse had.

That meant trouble.

Team Snow 2: DETENTION, Women's Fiction

Title: DETENTION
Genre: Adult Women's Fiction
Word Count: 96,000


Hot or cold? Look, Liston Heights is an elite community. Want your kid in the Cirrus gifted program? Get a math tutor in Pre-K. A lead role in a high school theater production? It’s years of private dance and voice lessons. You don’t just waltz in; you have to earn it. I charted the course and paid the dues, and no one – certainly not a frumpy English teacher who doesn’t even live in Liston Heights – can ruin this one, critical year. If that makes me cold, then I’m cold.

Query:

Isobel Johnson can’t stand helicopter parents like Elizabeth Abbott, a stage mom whose world revolves around yoga, Starbucks, and interfering in her children’s lives. Elizabeth resents teachers like Isobel, who effortlessly bond with students, including Elizabeth’s own teenagers, who’ve been pulling away from her more each year.

Isobel has spent her career in Liston Heights side-stepping the community’s high-powered families. When she receives a threatening voicemail accusing her of Anti-Americanism and a “blatant liberal agenda,” she realizes she’s squarely in the fray. Rather than cowering, Isobel doubles down on her social-justice ideals, teaching queer theory in AP American Lit. Meanwhile, Elizabeth, obsessed with the casting of the winter musical, inadvertently elbows the female lead in the gut while celebrating her son’s mid-size speaking role. She’s the instant star of a damning viral video and stripped of her position on the Theater Booster Board. While they share zero values, the women’s simultaneous meltdowns force them together in a battle against the school principal and a pack of rabid parents in a suburb where appearance is everything.

Humiliated, Elizabeth drifts for the first time since her kids were born. At the same time, the principal suspends Isobel amid pressure from an angry Republican Senator. Each woman seeks redemption, and when they both show up at a school-sponsored 5k, they’re determined to fight for it. Not only do they battle to the finish line, they must also tackle the social media fiasco that led to Isobel’s downfall, lest she lose her job and Elizabeth’s reputation remain permanently flatlined.

Told in the style of BIG LITTLE LIES, alternating between two protagonists and supporting players, DETENTION will appeal to book-clubbers who’ve enjoyed Elisabeth Egan’s A WINDOW OPENS and Amy Poeppel’s SMALL ADMISSIONS.

First 250 words:

Isobel Johnson spent most of each class period obsessing over the voicemail. She studied the faces of her students, searching for the downcast eye or snide smile that might signal guilt. But despite her vigilance, she’d arrived at last-period without any suspects, and now the kids in her AP American Literature class just looked tired. Some rested their chins in their palms. Some gazed toward the bank of frost-laced windows overlooking the snow-covered Liston Heights High School track. While definitely drowsy, no one seemed even a little bit sheepish, not even the ones she knew for sure hadn’t done a single page of their assigned reading.

"Okay," Isobel said with a sigh. She set her well-worn copy of The Great Gatsby on the corner of her metal desk and glanced at the standard-issue clock on the back wall. The red secondhand passed twelve, and it was now 3:24. "That's it for today," Isobel smiled in spite of her anxiety.

The juniors moved at once, rustling their notebooks and dropping their cellphones into their backpacks. A few donned baseball caps, which they'd stored beneath their seats during class. "Oh, hang on," Isobel interrupted. "I forgot about homework." She winced, bracing against their instantaneous groans. “It's not a big deal," she said, her palms toward them in defense. "I just wanted to say," she paused, making eye contact with a select few, wondering again about their complicity, "catch up on your reading! Tonight!" She pointed at the class with a faux-stern index finger.

Team Snow 3: VIRIDESCENCE, Adult Science Fiction

Title: VIRIDESCENCE
Genre: Adult Science Fiction
Word Count: 87,000
Is your antagonist hot or cold? Dr. Kerris Jane Knight: Some would say I’m cold, and it’s possible I am. After all, I make the hard choices Grayson is too soft to make. We’ll live fine for some time in the void of space, even if it’s under imperfect circumstances. But I won’t let us relive history and wipe out a sentient native race, just because we need land. The coup will happen. Casualties will occur. We will stop the xenocide. And humanity will survive. Even if the human race doesn’t.
Query:
Dr. Zera Lewin’s research was only meant for a small terraforming program. But an asteroid destroys Earth and kills her family as she watches, helpless. What’s left of humanity is now stranded in space, and her 3D bioprinting project becomes the lynchpin to human survival. The United World Government military has found the perfect planet to terraform—except the planet is already occupied by a civilization of hive-like humanoid aliens.
The military declares war and destroys the layered, homogenous cities so they can use Zera’s work to create a new home for humanity. But not all humans support the massacre. Led by an extreme idealist, protests rise all over the space station. After a suicide bomber threatens Zera’s life, the protesting rebels kidnap her. The rebels demand she create a genetic key to bioprint the aliens and save the beings from extinction but Zera fears disobeying humanity’s heavy-handed government.
When the protests breed a rebellion, Zera finds herself drawn to their cause. Her new friends plan a coup, but the insurgence against the xenocidal military could mean the destruction of the entire space station. Now Zera needs to find a way to save her newfound companions and the aliens, while ensuring the word “humanity” still means compassion.
With a similar voice to Peter Newman’s The Vagrant, VIRIDESCENCE is a standalone science fiction novel with series potential, and will appeal to fans of Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl and Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves.

250 Words:

The missiles sparkled. Six iridescent stars in the distance. And an asteroid that, from so far away, looked the size of a basketball, like one her sister used to play with. An irregular, grey rock that somersaulted, heavy with its own gravity, and trailed by glittering dust and debris. Sun reflected off the minerals and ice.

A rock rose in Zera’s throat.

Shifting her weight from one foot to another on the enormous observation deck, Zera tuned out the broadwave transmission, alternating between haunting music and a variety of different religions’ prayers.

Those six missiles were set to strategically split the asteroid so it bypassed Earth’s gravity well. Leaving the earth intact.

They had to succeed.

Her parents. Her sister. Her sister’s family. They were all on Earth, still without a pass onto one of the stations or colonies.

This strike was their only chance. Humanity’s only chance.

Zera breathed deep. She traced the path of the missiles with her finger on the cold, thick glass separating her and the vacuum of space. Atmosphere to asteroid. So far away. They looked like they moved a micrometer per second. An illusion of the massive distance.

Other scientists and researchers lined the observation deck of the station with her. If they spoke, they whispered. Breath catching. Everyone stood. Anticipating.

Zera glanced at the black-haired man behind her, Scientific Development Director Dr. Stephen Acosta. He exhaled, inhaled, stuttered soft. “No. No. No.”

Team Snow 4: STONE MAN, Adult Tragicomedy/Contemporary

Title: STONE MANGenre: Adult Tragicomedy/ContemporaryWord Count: 60,000


Is Your Antagonist hot or cold: 

My antagonist is cold. He is grumpy, miserable, and very bitter toward the world after tragedy leaves him hopeless and wanting to die. As the story progresses, he begins to warm up and see the world in a new light thanks to the young teen he is forced to mentor. 
Query:
Forty-five-year-old Peter Thatcher spends his days collecting welfare checks and staring at his pile of prescription drugs. After the loss of his son leaves him bitter and alone, he wants nothing more than to end his pathetic existence.
An assault charge puts a hold on his plans to kill himself and forces him to participate in the big brother program at his local Boys and Girls Club. There he meets seventeen-year-old Finn, an autistic teenager who has an obsession with the Beatles and an annoying whistling habit. Reluctantly, Peter spends time with him, counting down the seconds until his community service hours are up.
But then Peter begins poking around in Finn’s past and finds Finn has lied about his family. He’s actually a foster kid with a mother in a mental hospital and a father he’s never met. As they embark on an unexpected road trip to find Finn’s dad, Peter begins warming up to Finn’s quirks. At the end of their trip, the answers they find are shocking. Peter must find a way to rise above his self-hatred and revisit his past in order to help Finn overcome his own pain.
STONE MAN is a 60,000 word adult contemporary/tragicomedy told in the vein of The Revised Fundamentals of Caring by Jonathan Evison and Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick.

First 250 words:
Lying was effortless for Peter. Fun even. And Ms. Gale would surely be an easy target. She was short, a bit on the bigger side with dark skin and kind eyes. Manipulating her would be like manipulating Mother Goose.
“So, Mr. Thatcher,” she said. “I guess the real question is, why do you want to participate in our big brother program?”
Peter forced a smile. “It’s rewarding working with the youth. I feel my efforts would be better served here than doing manual labor.” It was either this or picking up crap along the highway, so here I am. “That’s a good point,” she said, flipping through his file. “I see here you were arrested for assault?”
“I admit it and take full responsibility. I can assure you I am not a threat and want the opportunity to prove I’m a changed man.” The asshole deserved it. Ms. Gale nodded, the pleased look on her face telling Peter she’d bought it. “Now, Mr. Thatcher, I want to make it clear that these children are not just community service hours. A lot of them don’t come from good homes and are lacking proper guidance. You need to be there for them. Mentor them. Do you think you can handle that?” “Without a doubt.” “I also wanted to point out that typically, we don’t allow those charged with violent crimes to participate.”
“I swear I’m—”
“But, due to the fact that you’re a father, I’m going to give you a chance. Please don’t make me regret it.”

Team Snow 5: HAZELWOOD, Upper MG Fantasy

Title: HAZELWOODGenre: upper MG FantasyWord Count: 75,000
Is Your Antagonist hot or cold:
Something is out there. Something that burns, hotter than a flash fire. It's stolen breath and soot, simmering and patient, the uncanny heat of a star that looks cold until you get close enough to realize it's a flame. It's the fire of want, and take, and scorch. Unluckily for Molly, that something knows her name. Like a fire, it's hungry. And it will stop at nothing to obtain the fuel it needs: a still-beating heart, fresh and young and full of life. Molly's still has seventy-seven years remaining. On it beats like a siren song, drawing the blaze closer.
Query:
Thirteen-year-old Molly Crewe just wants out: anywhere would be better than her room at the top of the crumbling girls' dormitory. But after eleven years of waiting to be adopted, it's obvious that nobody wants the weirdest girl at St. Jerome's School for Misspent Youth. Maybe if she could make it through one day without earning another detention, things would be different. Maybe if she wasn't the kind of girl who still believed in fairytales, or wishing on stars, or if she had even one single person she could call a friend. Maybe if she didn't spot mysterious golden doors that nobody else sees. Of course, the doors aren't a problem until one of them opens, depositing a sweetly soft fox at her feet. It's really too bad the fox is there for just one purpose: to steal Molly's heart. Gasping, body failing, Molly barely manages to chase the fox back through his tree. And when she does, she finds herself in a world full of talking trees and animals, a place where magic is built into the earth, the sky, the stars. A place where she can breathe in deep. This magic is keeping her alive, but it's failing. Magic--and time--are running out. The fox has plans for Molly's heart--plans she has to stop. Molly has three days to catch the fox, take back her heart, and find a way home, or she'll be stuck there when the magic runs out and the world tears itself apart.
First 250 words:
The first time she saw the door, Molly was in detention. This wasn’t unusual. Molly had been getting detentions for as long as Headmistress Paige had been handing them out. In the last month, Molly had been involved in the Unfortunate Language Choices Incident, which had led to the Unfortunate Wash Molly’s Mouth Out With Soap Incident and the Unfortunate Molly Sits In The Box Incident. Just last week there’d been the Unfortunate Signs And Portents Incident, in which Headmistress Paige had definitively decided that Molly’s prediction of the upcoming demise of Orchard Grove, Alabama to a hailstorm of stray comet dust had no bearing in scientific fact. Even when she tried to do things right, Molly excelled at getting everything wrong. But the detentions, at least, had variety. Molly had worked bathroom-scrubbing detentions and scrubbed lint filters with toothbrushes. She'd peeled potatoes until her fingers bled. Her latest detention found Molly sitting outside in the dirt, preparing a flower bed for fresh plantings of bruised blue and purple pansies with just one rusty trowel and four full, heavy buckets of manure.
But it didn't matter. There wasn't a detention in the world that could bother Molly, because she had met with the kindest, gentlest, nicest lady in the world just yesterday. Dr. Lyess was the kind of lady who asked her questions about her dreams, and where she had come from, and about Molly's love of books, and she’d actually cared about the answers.